We spent four hours in labor & delivery yesterday. Since my pregnancy has been so sublime and healthy, I never thought I'd end up in L&D early. I thought we would just make the trip when it was time to push and go and have Bunny that day. Well, I was wrong!
It all started at about 9:30 a.m. as I was sitting at my desk working. In a sudden rush, my chest tightened up and I felt my heart rate speed up. I could feel my heart beating through my ribs, down my spine, and into my belly. Immediately after that feeling passed, I was light-headed and a bit nauseated. I was a bit scared, but didn't think much of it, until it happened again 5 minutes later. I texted MM and we decided I should call the doctor, which I did. I was told to head to the ER because they could test me for everything there.
We got to the hospital and were sent straight to L&D. I did the usual; disrobing, urine sample, into the hospital bed, and we were hooked up to the external fetal monitor, blood pressure cuff, and O2/heart rate monitor. After answering a lot of questions, the nurse on duty called Dr. H. who quickly prescribed a breathing treatment. Looks like it was an asthma attack. I started the breathing treatment and started feeling better, if not a little light-headed and tipsy, as is the norm with those treatments. My O2 sats went back up and I was feeling sleepy, which they thought was a good sign.
Bunny, however, was not having it. The breathing treatment made her more lazy for some reason, so I had to be monitored to see if she would start reacting the way they wanted. She didn't. I drank some apple juice...no reaction...I ate the hospital lunch...no reaction...I drank some more juice...no reaction. Finally, after my millionth glass of ice water, Bunny woke up and started moving around. I was really starting to get worried as the words Biophysical Profile and induction were being tossed around.
After a final check-in with Dr. H., we were allowed to get out of there and go home for an afternoon of rest. I couldn't have done it without MM. He was so patient and helpful the whole time. He asked all the questions I didn't think about and made sure we both understood the answers before we moved on. He even skipped out on lunch because we didn't have cash and he didn't want to leave me at the hospital while he went to get something to eat. (One of the nurses was kind and called the cafeteria to get him some food. I felt so bad, so I'm glad he finally ate!!)
So I am back at the office today, but have to continue to be mindful; drink 8 oz. of water every hour I'm awake, do kick counts to make sure Bunny is active enough, keep in tune with my body a little more to discern what different pains could be. It's a little taxing to always be thinking, "ooh, what was that?" all the time, but it's ALL worth it to keep Bunny healthy.
My biggest problem with what happened yesterday is why I didn't recognize the asthma attack when it happened? A few puffs on my inhaler and a nap and I probably would have been fine. Why did I have to drag us to the hospital?! It wore us both out! Oh well, lesson learned. It did give us a good chance to really talk to the L&D staff and know more what to expect when the time actually comes.
All in all, we are both happy to be back to normal today and hope to stay out of L&D for a few more weeks!
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